May 16, 2008
Well, today didn't prove to be a much better day than I've had since Dad left for his trip about 10 days ago. Why does everything bad have to happen when Dad is gone? Is there some kind of Dad traveling jeannie that comes out and goes crazy the moment he leaves for the airport? Why after almost 30 years of craziness when he is gone can't I get a tiny break? How come the bad things don't happen to him instead of the ones at home? I mean he has lost his clothes repeatedly, but that seems mild to some of the things that go on here at home while he is missing in action. I mean he is off collecting blue mints for the kids and rounding up games for Russell, and I am home finding out that I have 2 fractures in my foot that have been there for the past 6 months. No wonder the thing hurts constantly. Have you ever heard of anyone walking around on a fractured foot for 6 1/2 months? I must be some kind of lunatic, or my doctors are.
I finally found out that the first podiatrist I went to in November last year totally screwed up my foot. By not looking at the x-ray, and just sending me to physical therapy (where his technician burned the bottom of my foot) he just compounded my problem. I now have bad arthritis in the joint where my big toe connects to my foot, and a bone growing in a point because it wasn't set properly, and a hook growing on the top of my foot. The only cure is major foot surgery with two titanium grommet looking things put in my joint. They can get rid of the arthritis, but two grommets!!! Give me a break, I really have a mal-practice suit if I wanted to pursue it. Right now, because of having to go to NYC with Cooper in just a few weeks, we are trying to come up with something that will keep me on my foot but not in excruciating pain until I can come back home. I have a piece of foam glued to the bottom of my foot to see if it might be possible to make an orthopedic insert for my show. However, I think I am allergic to the glue the new doctor used to glue the foam to my foot as I itch something terrible. I have to take a double dose of Benadryl to relieve the itch enough to make it tolerable. Thank goodness I see the doctor again on Tuesday....this isn't doing anything for the pain either. Some days I just sit and cry it hurts so much. They have given me some Vicodin for the pain, but that turns me into a pathetic lump in the bed, so I can't take it all the time....besides I don't want to be dependent on that stuff...I have to be coherent at least some of the time. I am trying to stay off the dumb foot, but have to spend some time on it each day. Now that Dad is home, I can be down a bit more. I think my best option would be get the surgery, but the doctor says the recovery time is a minimun 3-4 weeks, and flying is not a good thing. I guess the pressure changes can be very painful when you've just had surgery. I can't believe it could be more painful than what I have been dealing with for 6 months though. Then there is physical therapy time, and hopefully there won't be any complications. I don't know if I would have to stay in the hospital, but will find out more next week. I haven't been to the dance studio since Tuesday, so things are getting backed up there too.
Other things that happened while Dad was gone....both girls hurt themselves at dance...Cooper pulled her hamstring but is feeling better, and Cymbre did something to her knee. She can't put any weight on it, and the doctor told us today no dance, and sent us for an x-ray. Depending on what shows on the x-ray, we may be doing an MRI on Monday. With competition this weekend, she is pretty upset about the no dance part, but Ms. Ginny told her to relax and get better. She will be a celebrity at competition tomorrow with her ice thing around her knee. We are using the Ice pack the surgeon put on Dad when he had his knee surgery. It keeps it constantly cold, and then she can at least move around a bit.
And the washing machine blew out it's transmission! Why do those machines always die in the middle of a load leaving the tub full of water. Noah could float the ark in the water that spills when you have to take clothes out of the washer and the tub is full.
This happened on Tuesday night, the same day the doctor told me about my foot. I am too cheap to pay for the repairman to come just to come, so I decided to try to take the agitator thing off and make sure there was nothing clogging it up to cause it not to spin. Well I couldn't figure out how to get it off, so I called Grandpa thinking he would be able to help. He just gave the phone to Grandma. Now she can do lots of things, but taking apart a washing machine is not one of them. So there I am, on pain medicine, having just got the girls home from the dance studio. I'm standing on one foot, with my other one up on Cymbre's stool so I don't have my weight on it, and I am trying to get the stupid thing off the washer. Dad of course, doesn't have a long extension to his socket set that has the right size socket, so I am trying to put several pieces of the different socket sets together to make it go to a 90 degree angle. I hear you laughing, so stop it. IT WASN'T FUNNY! I didn't have much luck even after waking Dad up in Norway, but then I decided to just spray some WD40 on the screw thing and let it sit for a few hours. When I woke up to go to the bathroom about 2 am, I finally got that dumb screw out, and took the agitator off. Nothing clogging it, but then I had to use chop sticks to get the screw lined back up with the hole, so I could tighten it back up. I cleaned up all the gross stuff from inside the agitator while I had it off.
BUT, I still had to call a repairman. They could come of Thursday, but I had to go get Dad, so I set it up for Friday morning. I just put the dirty clothes back in the hamper because my foot was in no condition to go stand at the laundramat. Then on Wednesday, the lady called to tell me they wanted to come on Thursday morning to fix the washer....I told them they had to come and fix it and go before noon as I had to go get Dad by 1pm. Well, they were there and gone by 9:30 telling me that it was the transmission, and that would cost almost as much as buying a new washer to fix. I told them I would have to talk to Dad, who was, of course on the plane, so I couldn't get him on the phone. But as soon as I got to him, we decided to just buy another washer.....so that meant going to look for one. Dad took me, and we went to three stores. We finally decided to get the one at Lowes, so poor Dad who was so tired after flying all night went and bought the washer and got things set up for delivery today. So tonight we are trying to get the laundry caught up since we will be gone all day tomorrow for competition.
With all of this drama this past week, and not much sleep, I am certainly not looking forward to Dad leaving for San Diego on Sunday.
AND the other thing this week is Cooper broke her toe shoes that are just two months old. She has such strong arches and muscles in her foot, she just breaks them....and she needs three pairs to go to Joffrey. I will need to take donations soon as they are $60 a pair.
Well, the pain medicine is starting to work, so I am going to snuggle up next to Dad and sleep I hope. He will probably start to snore!!
Say your prayers for Cymbre's knee to heal quickly...she is devastated that she can't dance.
Love you all.
Mom
Friday, May 16, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
What's With The Spray Starch Anyway?
April 28, 2008
I have managed to clean up the sewing room one more time.....this time I organized the competition mess a bit better so that it isn't falling all over when we stack it up. I even dusted under the stackable drawers! Simply amazing!
Dad has been sick and sounds like he is coughing up his lungs. The doctor put him on some medicine, but he still has trouble sleeping because he is coughing so much. He is exhausted. I've been a making him take a shower in the front bathroom so he can stand in the steam for a while. I hope he feels better before he leaves for Europe in a week or so.
Cymbre survived her dance company tryouts, but was upset because she forgot one of the combinations. I told her that they know what she can do, and not to worry about it. It's hard for them to remember three new things they learn in the morning, and then no time to really practice, and then try out in the afternoon. We put them through this each year so that they will know what to expect at a real audition. She will make the team, she is just upset that she couldn't remember everything. She wasn't the only one.
I have managed to reach the bottom of my mending basket....miracles will never cease! At the bottom I found all kinds of thread scraps....things I thought I had thrown away every time I clipped them while sewing. I wonder just why they migrated to the bottom of the mending pile. Were they plotting to take over the sewing room, and strike back at the full spools of thread hanging on the door of the sewing machine cabinet. Had the elastic upset them in some manner? Was the velcro unfriendly? Maybe they were just planning on getting together for some sort of vacation. Who would need a vacation if you weren't really doing anything anyway? Do they just think they don't have to be in the trash can just because they don't want to? Maybe they just take flight because the ceiling fan is running while I sew, and the mending basket is just where they land. I am convinced that they must have some plan to irritate me. I mean really, have you heard of a thread scrap convention going on? If so, who organized it, and why wasn't I invited. I have two drawers of thread, we would have made good attendees.
And another thing, why does the spray starch always stick to the legs of the ironing board? Have you ever tried to pry the stuff off the legs? It's next to impossible. If you try to scrap it off, the paint comes off with it. If you try to just wash it off, it gets all sticky. Maybe I will just leave it there to form layer upon layer as some sort of a badge for keeping my ironing done. I can always just buy a new ironing board when the buildup gets so thick I can't stand it anymore. I guess I could make some sort of a ironing board skirt that would attach around the ironing board, and then the starch would just get on it, and I would take it off and wash it. Sound like a bit much though, don't you think?
Someone needs to invent a starch dissolver to make the job much easier.
Well, I better get on with making all the dance company certificates that we need for the award banquet. I think Cymbre should be one for the cutest freckles. We draw them on her for every Little Bitty performance, and she looks so cute.
Have a good day.
Love you.
Mom
I have managed to clean up the sewing room one more time.....this time I organized the competition mess a bit better so that it isn't falling all over when we stack it up. I even dusted under the stackable drawers! Simply amazing!
Dad has been sick and sounds like he is coughing up his lungs. The doctor put him on some medicine, but he still has trouble sleeping because he is coughing so much. He is exhausted. I've been a making him take a shower in the front bathroom so he can stand in the steam for a while. I hope he feels better before he leaves for Europe in a week or so.
Cymbre survived her dance company tryouts, but was upset because she forgot one of the combinations. I told her that they know what she can do, and not to worry about it. It's hard for them to remember three new things they learn in the morning, and then no time to really practice, and then try out in the afternoon. We put them through this each year so that they will know what to expect at a real audition. She will make the team, she is just upset that she couldn't remember everything. She wasn't the only one.
I have managed to reach the bottom of my mending basket....miracles will never cease! At the bottom I found all kinds of thread scraps....things I thought I had thrown away every time I clipped them while sewing. I wonder just why they migrated to the bottom of the mending pile. Were they plotting to take over the sewing room, and strike back at the full spools of thread hanging on the door of the sewing machine cabinet. Had the elastic upset them in some manner? Was the velcro unfriendly? Maybe they were just planning on getting together for some sort of vacation. Who would need a vacation if you weren't really doing anything anyway? Do they just think they don't have to be in the trash can just because they don't want to? Maybe they just take flight because the ceiling fan is running while I sew, and the mending basket is just where they land. I am convinced that they must have some plan to irritate me. I mean really, have you heard of a thread scrap convention going on? If so, who organized it, and why wasn't I invited. I have two drawers of thread, we would have made good attendees.
And another thing, why does the spray starch always stick to the legs of the ironing board? Have you ever tried to pry the stuff off the legs? It's next to impossible. If you try to scrap it off, the paint comes off with it. If you try to just wash it off, it gets all sticky. Maybe I will just leave it there to form layer upon layer as some sort of a badge for keeping my ironing done. I can always just buy a new ironing board when the buildup gets so thick I can't stand it anymore. I guess I could make some sort of a ironing board skirt that would attach around the ironing board, and then the starch would just get on it, and I would take it off and wash it. Sound like a bit much though, don't you think?
Someone needs to invent a starch dissolver to make the job much easier.
Well, I better get on with making all the dance company certificates that we need for the award banquet. I think Cymbre should be one for the cutest freckles. We draw them on her for every Little Bitty performance, and she looks so cute.
Have a good day.
Love you.
Mom
Friday, April 18, 2008
Just What's In That Scissors Drawer
Friday, April 18, 2008
Well, we have managed to survive getting the taxes filed at the studio, always a trial!
I am now in the process of getting the stuff to make the bodices for the pointe tutus for recital. At least we are not making the tutu part! Thank goodness. Thirteen layers of stiff netting in various widths gathered really full was not going to be fun. Than add the ten rows of ruffles on the panties, and it's a nightmare! Thankfully, Ginny bought the tutus, so we are just doing the bodices.
Cooper is back down with ear infections....she has a middle and outer infection in one ear, and just the outer in the other ear. They told me to keep her out of the swimming pool....which is interesting since she hasn't been swimming! DUH! Now she blow drys her ears after showering, and we have all these drops to put in them. I thought having her tonsils out was supposed to help with all this stuff. I think I need a rebate from her surgeon.
We have a performance again tomorrow...just an elementary school carnival and we are the opening acts. We are taking some solos, and Cymbre's Little Bitty is going. Cooper is coming to be the back stage manager which she is really good at since she does it for recital every year.
Company tryouts for Cymbre are next weekend, but she will make it. Probably the Junior A team this next year....heaven forbid! I wonder how many costumes that means I will make. Cooper's aren't until just before recital. She will be Teen A probably, but we will have to be careful about what dances we put her in since most of it will be on Sundays. Dad says he will pay for more solos or duets for her this next year so she can still dance, but it can be on Saturday. We don't want to pay for costumes that her understudy just wears.
Cymbre has all her flowers planted in the pots in the backyard and the front porch. She has them all named, and talks to them all everyday....the kid is losing it. Her tomatoe plants are already growing tomatoes. Dad is making her a flower bed beside the garage so she can have more flowers.
I set up the email on hotmail for the little girls, so you will probably start hearing from them.
We bought a new dryer. The bearings went out on the other one, and since it was 14 years old, we decided to just replace it. The new one has this sensor thing that tells it when the clothes are dry and it just turns off. Now I am constantly thinking it is still running, and go in there to find it stopped and the clothes are cold. I am used to three buzzers and this new one just buzzes once at the end of the cycle. I guess I just have to retrain myself. It does have a 30 minute cycle where it will tumble for just a minute to keep the clothes wrinkle free, but that seems like a waste of power to me.
I cleaned out the scissor drawer in the kitchen the other day and found some very interesting things in there. An empty packing tape roll...now just why would it need to live in the drawer if there is no tape on it? Will it miss it's friends if it goes to live at the trash dump. Surely, it could find some new friends there, I mean after all, I sent some of them there just a couple of weeks ago when I sent packages to people. Another thing I found were several top to granola bars. The rest of the wrapper must have made it to the trash can, but just the top part to open the wrapper seems to end up with the scissors in the drawer. Now I collect lots of dumb things, but granola bar tops of wrappers are not one of them! And those little plastic tags things that hold the tags on clothes at the store. We had a whole colony of them! Those things must think they were living in a palace there were so many of them....and no it hasn't been that long since I cleaned out the drawer. There's just 3-4 of them on everything you buy these days, and obviously the little girls think the place to leave them is in the drawer. There were also pieces of Cymbre's Zyrtec wrappers. I just don't understand why it is so hard for them to make it to the trash can. Is there some kind of mysterious suction that occurs when the scissor cut part away to get the pill out that sucks the rest of the wrapper into the far corners of this drawer. It just looks like an ordinary drawer in the kitchen, but I am convinced it has some kind of power of small objects that really should be living in the trash can! The trash can lives across the kitchen from this drawer, so it can't be in cahoots with the drawer, since I never hear any conversations taking place between them. Come to think of it, there should be at least 6-7 pairs of scissors in that drawer, and there aren't. They must have migrated south for the season! Maybe they are making tracks to the trash can...but I don't see any little clippings left on the floor. The calculator that lives in the drawer seems to have problems finding his way home too.....I actually think he has a thing for the pink calculator that lives in Dad's desk drawer....I saw them snuggling the other day. Boy I split that up fast, we don't need those baby calculators everywhere. And the lip balm pots that are supposed to stay in the drawer seem to migrate into my purse. Now why would I need 7 tubes of chapstick in my purse. I don't have seven lips! There are not even seven people who have lips that live at my house anymore! I never use chocolate flavor, or even cherry flavor, so why do they have to live in my purse? One of these days when I have absolutely nothing better to do, I am going to sit on the bar stool and stare at that drawer to figure out just how these things get into so much trouble. It's true my purse lives on the counter right above the drawer, but I never hear any ruckus going on in the drawer (and yes, I am home alone for a good portion of the day, and no, I haven't lost my mind!), so why would the chapstick need to find it's way into my purse? Is there something going on in my purse that I need to know about? Is something picking on the chapstick in the drawer? Are the scissors unfriendly? They aren't sharp enough to do any real harm to anything. Maybe the scotch tape keeps threatening the chapstick. I know, the chip clips must be picking on the tubes, so they just have to vacate the premises...that's got to be it. I really must just sit and watch. Of course, I could just zip my purse closed, but then I can't hear my cell phone ring when it's inside the purse, and I never remember to take it out and put it on the counter when I come home. And if I did, then when I left, it would still be on the counter, and what good would it do me then? I can't call anyone from the counter when I am gone in the van. I could call from the car, but I never drive the car since it makes my foot swell up, so I just leave my phone in my purse.
Well, I guess I need to get busy doing something useful today....I think I will iron the few pieces I have washed this morning so I don't have to get a basket out and stack it up. I finally got the mountain caught up. Then maybe on to the mending, or cutting out bodices. Or I could just take myself out to a nice lunch at Panera Bread.
Each of you have a great day, and remember to talk to Heavenly Father. Give your smile to someone else, and hug someone you love.
I love you bunches.
Mom
Well, we have managed to survive getting the taxes filed at the studio, always a trial!
I am now in the process of getting the stuff to make the bodices for the pointe tutus for recital. At least we are not making the tutu part! Thank goodness. Thirteen layers of stiff netting in various widths gathered really full was not going to be fun. Than add the ten rows of ruffles on the panties, and it's a nightmare! Thankfully, Ginny bought the tutus, so we are just doing the bodices.
Cooper is back down with ear infections....she has a middle and outer infection in one ear, and just the outer in the other ear. They told me to keep her out of the swimming pool....which is interesting since she hasn't been swimming! DUH! Now she blow drys her ears after showering, and we have all these drops to put in them. I thought having her tonsils out was supposed to help with all this stuff. I think I need a rebate from her surgeon.
We have a performance again tomorrow...just an elementary school carnival and we are the opening acts. We are taking some solos, and Cymbre's Little Bitty is going. Cooper is coming to be the back stage manager which she is really good at since she does it for recital every year.
Company tryouts for Cymbre are next weekend, but she will make it. Probably the Junior A team this next year....heaven forbid! I wonder how many costumes that means I will make. Cooper's aren't until just before recital. She will be Teen A probably, but we will have to be careful about what dances we put her in since most of it will be on Sundays. Dad says he will pay for more solos or duets for her this next year so she can still dance, but it can be on Saturday. We don't want to pay for costumes that her understudy just wears.
Cymbre has all her flowers planted in the pots in the backyard and the front porch. She has them all named, and talks to them all everyday....the kid is losing it. Her tomatoe plants are already growing tomatoes. Dad is making her a flower bed beside the garage so she can have more flowers.
I set up the email on hotmail for the little girls, so you will probably start hearing from them.
We bought a new dryer. The bearings went out on the other one, and since it was 14 years old, we decided to just replace it. The new one has this sensor thing that tells it when the clothes are dry and it just turns off. Now I am constantly thinking it is still running, and go in there to find it stopped and the clothes are cold. I am used to three buzzers and this new one just buzzes once at the end of the cycle. I guess I just have to retrain myself. It does have a 30 minute cycle where it will tumble for just a minute to keep the clothes wrinkle free, but that seems like a waste of power to me.
I cleaned out the scissor drawer in the kitchen the other day and found some very interesting things in there. An empty packing tape roll...now just why would it need to live in the drawer if there is no tape on it? Will it miss it's friends if it goes to live at the trash dump. Surely, it could find some new friends there, I mean after all, I sent some of them there just a couple of weeks ago when I sent packages to people. Another thing I found were several top to granola bars. The rest of the wrapper must have made it to the trash can, but just the top part to open the wrapper seems to end up with the scissors in the drawer. Now I collect lots of dumb things, but granola bar tops of wrappers are not one of them! And those little plastic tags things that hold the tags on clothes at the store. We had a whole colony of them! Those things must think they were living in a palace there were so many of them....and no it hasn't been that long since I cleaned out the drawer. There's just 3-4 of them on everything you buy these days, and obviously the little girls think the place to leave them is in the drawer. There were also pieces of Cymbre's Zyrtec wrappers. I just don't understand why it is so hard for them to make it to the trash can. Is there some kind of mysterious suction that occurs when the scissor cut part away to get the pill out that sucks the rest of the wrapper into the far corners of this drawer. It just looks like an ordinary drawer in the kitchen, but I am convinced it has some kind of power of small objects that really should be living in the trash can! The trash can lives across the kitchen from this drawer, so it can't be in cahoots with the drawer, since I never hear any conversations taking place between them. Come to think of it, there should be at least 6-7 pairs of scissors in that drawer, and there aren't. They must have migrated south for the season! Maybe they are making tracks to the trash can...but I don't see any little clippings left on the floor. The calculator that lives in the drawer seems to have problems finding his way home too.....I actually think he has a thing for the pink calculator that lives in Dad's desk drawer....I saw them snuggling the other day. Boy I split that up fast, we don't need those baby calculators everywhere. And the lip balm pots that are supposed to stay in the drawer seem to migrate into my purse. Now why would I need 7 tubes of chapstick in my purse. I don't have seven lips! There are not even seven people who have lips that live at my house anymore! I never use chocolate flavor, or even cherry flavor, so why do they have to live in my purse? One of these days when I have absolutely nothing better to do, I am going to sit on the bar stool and stare at that drawer to figure out just how these things get into so much trouble. It's true my purse lives on the counter right above the drawer, but I never hear any ruckus going on in the drawer (and yes, I am home alone for a good portion of the day, and no, I haven't lost my mind!), so why would the chapstick need to find it's way into my purse? Is there something going on in my purse that I need to know about? Is something picking on the chapstick in the drawer? Are the scissors unfriendly? They aren't sharp enough to do any real harm to anything. Maybe the scotch tape keeps threatening the chapstick. I know, the chip clips must be picking on the tubes, so they just have to vacate the premises...that's got to be it. I really must just sit and watch. Of course, I could just zip my purse closed, but then I can't hear my cell phone ring when it's inside the purse, and I never remember to take it out and put it on the counter when I come home. And if I did, then when I left, it would still be on the counter, and what good would it do me then? I can't call anyone from the counter when I am gone in the van. I could call from the car, but I never drive the car since it makes my foot swell up, so I just leave my phone in my purse.
Well, I guess I need to get busy doing something useful today....I think I will iron the few pieces I have washed this morning so I don't have to get a basket out and stack it up. I finally got the mountain caught up. Then maybe on to the mending, or cutting out bodices. Or I could just take myself out to a nice lunch at Panera Bread.
Each of you have a great day, and remember to talk to Heavenly Father. Give your smile to someone else, and hug someone you love.
I love you bunches.
Mom
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
What is it with people when you tell them a deadline, they all think that they can take another week to get the stuff in. I tell you, if I was Ginny, I just wouldn't enter the late ones in competitions. This is totally ridiculous! I have to spend all night up, the night before we leave on a trip because these people REFUSE to turn in the money on time......you can't just count the money and be done. There are several forms we have to compile the information on, and then cross check everything.
On a lighter note, MTV is coming to the studio for the day tomorrow. Ginny wanted me to come and finish helping cleaning, but I paid for a sewing class and I am going. They are coming to interview her for something to do with the drill team stuff she does, and if she gets the job, they will be filming at the studio on a regular basis. Just what we need! Another reason for Ms. Michelle to be full of herself! I think Ginny is crazy to let this go on....it will be nothing but trouble just you watch. However, I will be a good girl and wear my purple office manager shirt if I go to the studio at any point tomorrow.
We survived another competition. That little Cymbre and her partner Megan took a platinum 1st place in their catagory, and then won First Place Overall too! She has all the luck with Star Systems. Cooper's duet did well too taking a first place platinum in their division, but they didn't quite get the overall. Their division is judged much harder than Cymbre's, just because of their age. They were competing against other Hintze duets, and bet out most of them. Our Mary Poppins and Happy Feet productions took the "Outstanding Achievement" awards, and our studio was the "Top Studio" at the competition. That means we got the highest average of all of the scores that performed for each studio. They average every entry for the studio, and it makes sense that we won since most of our dances received platinums. We received several comments on the costumes for the duets I made, so that always makes me feel good.
We are packing for the trip to Denver....I am excited to leave Houston for a few days. It will be nice to get away from the studio.
I am going to a pattern design sewing class in the morning....don't you think it's about time I learn how to do it since I have been doing it for the dance studio for 4 years! I thought so.
Friday, I have the priviledge of getting yet another crown on a tooth. The dumb tooth just broke off, so of course, it needs a crown.....nothing like a toothache for the trip.
Well, Russell will be proud of me....I installed a new font on my office computer and I didn't even have to call him.....AMAZING!. Then on top of that, I installed a new program too....Miracles will never cease. Then the best part is, it actually works! I was doing some things for Ginny for her charity league stuff she does.
I will finish it up tomorrow, and then she can just print it out over the break.
Have you ever really looked at a new package of CD's? They are all so pretty and new, and then when you open the package, even before you touch anything, the top one manages to get scratched! What the heck! How does the thing that doesn't breathe, have arms or legs managed to get scratched without anyone even touching it? Are there some invisible men inside the stack that run around with nails creating havoc? I even bought a package with those little separater things between the cd's, but NO, that didn't keep them from getting scratches either. And no, I didn't just buy the cd package at Wal Mart, I got some of them at Target, and one stack at Office Depot. I think there is a plot to ruin all the cd's in the world. Even the package with the colored ones is scratched. At least whoever is doing it isn't picky.
I got Uncle Gary a new nappy blanket made....he called and said his was worn out while I was making all the costumes. I got it made in time to go with us. The girls chose spider fabric, so it will be interesting to see his reaction. There will probably be spider wars going on this week. Beware!
Well, I must try to get some of these cd's to burn....we have taken a bunch of songs off the old records and put them on the computer and I want to make some cd's for Dad and I in the car.....we don't have IPods! Maybe I will put the C is for cookie song on one, and the train one about Cookie Monster. I know, you kids want those songs. Dad is working on it.
Remember to serve someone else this week. I'd let someone carry my part of Elizabeth and Ethan's stuff for a bit if you want to....the trial chemo has started, and she is a wreck....he is turning into a kind of "lab rat" as she calls it. I still am having a REAL hard time not crying when she calls. I have to cry when I hang up, but I try real hard not to fall apart on the phone. VERY DIFFICULT!
I love you.
Mom
What is it with people when you tell them a deadline, they all think that they can take another week to get the stuff in. I tell you, if I was Ginny, I just wouldn't enter the late ones in competitions. This is totally ridiculous! I have to spend all night up, the night before we leave on a trip because these people REFUSE to turn in the money on time......you can't just count the money and be done. There are several forms we have to compile the information on, and then cross check everything.
On a lighter note, MTV is coming to the studio for the day tomorrow. Ginny wanted me to come and finish helping cleaning, but I paid for a sewing class and I am going. They are coming to interview her for something to do with the drill team stuff she does, and if she gets the job, they will be filming at the studio on a regular basis. Just what we need! Another reason for Ms. Michelle to be full of herself! I think Ginny is crazy to let this go on....it will be nothing but trouble just you watch. However, I will be a good girl and wear my purple office manager shirt if I go to the studio at any point tomorrow.
We survived another competition. That little Cymbre and her partner Megan took a platinum 1st place in their catagory, and then won First Place Overall too! She has all the luck with Star Systems. Cooper's duet did well too taking a first place platinum in their division, but they didn't quite get the overall. Their division is judged much harder than Cymbre's, just because of their age. They were competing against other Hintze duets, and bet out most of them. Our Mary Poppins and Happy Feet productions took the "Outstanding Achievement" awards, and our studio was the "Top Studio" at the competition. That means we got the highest average of all of the scores that performed for each studio. They average every entry for the studio, and it makes sense that we won since most of our dances received platinums. We received several comments on the costumes for the duets I made, so that always makes me feel good.
We are packing for the trip to Denver....I am excited to leave Houston for a few days. It will be nice to get away from the studio.
I am going to a pattern design sewing class in the morning....don't you think it's about time I learn how to do it since I have been doing it for the dance studio for 4 years! I thought so.
Friday, I have the priviledge of getting yet another crown on a tooth. The dumb tooth just broke off, so of course, it needs a crown.....nothing like a toothache for the trip.
Well, Russell will be proud of me....I installed a new font on my office computer and I didn't even have to call him.....AMAZING!. Then on top of that, I installed a new program too....Miracles will never cease. Then the best part is, it actually works! I was doing some things for Ginny for her charity league stuff she does.
I will finish it up tomorrow, and then she can just print it out over the break.
Have you ever really looked at a new package of CD's? They are all so pretty and new, and then when you open the package, even before you touch anything, the top one manages to get scratched! What the heck! How does the thing that doesn't breathe, have arms or legs managed to get scratched without anyone even touching it? Are there some invisible men inside the stack that run around with nails creating havoc? I even bought a package with those little separater things between the cd's, but NO, that didn't keep them from getting scratches either. And no, I didn't just buy the cd package at Wal Mart, I got some of them at Target, and one stack at Office Depot. I think there is a plot to ruin all the cd's in the world. Even the package with the colored ones is scratched. At least whoever is doing it isn't picky.
I got Uncle Gary a new nappy blanket made....he called and said his was worn out while I was making all the costumes. I got it made in time to go with us. The girls chose spider fabric, so it will be interesting to see his reaction. There will probably be spider wars going on this week. Beware!
Well, I must try to get some of these cd's to burn....we have taken a bunch of songs off the old records and put them on the computer and I want to make some cd's for Dad and I in the car.....we don't have IPods! Maybe I will put the C is for cookie song on one, and the train one about Cookie Monster. I know, you kids want those songs. Dad is working on it.
Remember to serve someone else this week. I'd let someone carry my part of Elizabeth and Ethan's stuff for a bit if you want to....the trial chemo has started, and she is a wreck....he is turning into a kind of "lab rat" as she calls it. I still am having a REAL hard time not crying when she calls. I have to cry when I hang up, but I try real hard not to fall apart on the phone. VERY DIFFICULT!
I love you.
Mom
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Early Morning Ramblings
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
It is early Tuesday morning, and I am awake with a backache! Lately, I just can't win for losing! I could take the pain medicine the doctor gave me, but I really hate that "hit by a truck" feeling when I wake up. I could use the numbing patch, but I would have to wake Dad up to put it on, and that thing is so cold when you first put it on. However, it does bring 12 hours of blessed relief. So, I am muddling through with muscle relaxers! They just make me sleepy.
I am in the last stages of Cooper's Lady in the Water top. I had to make a modest one after the seamstress doing them just threw them together last week. Dad and I took the stand that she would have a modest top, or they would dance without her. Ginny chose the modest top, but I had to go clear downtown and pay a bundle to get the material. The seamstress didn't want to give me all the scraps from what she did, so I had to even buy the thread. Which doesn't make sense because Ginny paid for everything in the first place. The bad part is, I had already paid a bundle for the first immodest one! Never again.
Cooper made that Joffrey Ballet Summer program. It's a real big deal....only 18 spots for girls her age from across the nation. Dad is sending me with her to NYC for the two weeks she will be in class there.....I told the school I would chaperone 6 girls. I hope I don't regret it. They haven't said if I will be a chaperone or not, but I will be Cooper's. What I will do all day in NYC by myself is a mystery, but I do know the temple is in Manhattan just a few blocks from where we stayed when we went to NY for master classes two years ago. Maybe if my back is better, I can put in some serious time there.
Ethan's visit to MD Anderson revealed that they think that Texas Children's is doing a great job, and they recommend the trial program there. They will only do the trial on him for a year, and then he has to leave the program. Not a good prognosis, but at least it could buy him some time. Elizabeth doesn't want to hand over her son to be a "lab rate" as she says. We talked about maybe it was time that his quality of life be the focal point instead of a cure. All I know is that the next year is going to be the REAL trial for that little family. I just hope and pray I can help her when my phone rings and I hear tears on the other end. I am praying that I will have the strength to help her through this experience. She so wants to do this with dignity. Just how do you prepare someone to lose their precious baby? I have to blink back the tears just thinking about it. She wants me to run interference for her at church to answer some of the questions. She just can't repeat things over and over.....I just can't believe this!
My staff at the church library is growing....they called three more librarians. Two men and a lady. Now I just have to train everyone again. I'll have to fit it in around trips to Austin, Denver, New York, and Nashville. These dance trips are getting expensive.
We are going to Denver to Spring Break. Dad will drive us up there, and then he goes on to San Diego on business. Then he will return to Denver, do some business, and drive us home. We thought it was a great alternative to staying here in Houston while Dad went. The little girls are SO EXCITED to go see Grandma and Grandpa, and Gary and Jean, and Grandpa Flanagan. They want to go back to that museum place with Grandpa Flanagan and see all those things made out of farm tools. I must admit, that was fun. I am looking forward to just leaving the dance studio behind for a couple of weeks.
We have Star Systems competition again this weekend.....must get those costumes packed up again. Between the girls, we have 15 costumes, with all the accessories and jewelry and shoes! It takes a full day to get everything ready to go. Dad is building the new garment rack, so hopefully, it won't break this time. We finally have a great system of keeping things organized, but it doesn't help when one of the parts breaks!
My sewing machine runs great again!!! Guess they filled up the oil reservoir. I told the man they need to put a little gauge on the thing so I know when it needs a refill before the thing freezes up! He just tells me it's not like a car. Well, I see no reason why it couldn't have an oil gauge like a car.....surely there is some scientist somewhere who could figure out how to do it. Since it uses the oil up, there would be no need to drain it like a car, so really you just need a little tube to fill up the spots that need the oil. See, even my simple mind can think this up, so a scientist should think it was a piece of cake! Just think of all the sewing that could be done if it could just be refilled at home and not have to spend a week in the sewing machine hospital. My goodness, my mending might actually get done! I might even be able to make something for myself....or fix Shyla's temple jacket sleeves, or make Britni her skirts. And there's always those pesky pillow cases that my extremely spoiled family love so much. Another idea would be to just figure out how to have the entire bottle of oil just built into the machine so that the refill tube just refilled the bottle, and somehow it spread out to all the parts that think they need a drink. Maybe the solution is to just feed the machine some alcoholic drinks, and then it would be drunk and would realize that it needs the oil.
Well, before this gets any crazier, I think the muscle relaxer is finally kicking in so I am going to try to get some sleep. I think I will just go on the couch because I can hear Dad in the bedroom....someday they will think up a cure for LOUD snoring. Then we can check Dad and Caleb in for it and be done with it. Russell may need to go too, I'll have to ask Shyla.
Well, remember to talk to your Heavenly Father....He is waiting to hear from you.
Love,
Mom
It is early Tuesday morning, and I am awake with a backache! Lately, I just can't win for losing! I could take the pain medicine the doctor gave me, but I really hate that "hit by a truck" feeling when I wake up. I could use the numbing patch, but I would have to wake Dad up to put it on, and that thing is so cold when you first put it on. However, it does bring 12 hours of blessed relief. So, I am muddling through with muscle relaxers! They just make me sleepy.
I am in the last stages of Cooper's Lady in the Water top. I had to make a modest one after the seamstress doing them just threw them together last week. Dad and I took the stand that she would have a modest top, or they would dance without her. Ginny chose the modest top, but I had to go clear downtown and pay a bundle to get the material. The seamstress didn't want to give me all the scraps from what she did, so I had to even buy the thread. Which doesn't make sense because Ginny paid for everything in the first place. The bad part is, I had already paid a bundle for the first immodest one! Never again.
Cooper made that Joffrey Ballet Summer program. It's a real big deal....only 18 spots for girls her age from across the nation. Dad is sending me with her to NYC for the two weeks she will be in class there.....I told the school I would chaperone 6 girls. I hope I don't regret it. They haven't said if I will be a chaperone or not, but I will be Cooper's. What I will do all day in NYC by myself is a mystery, but I do know the temple is in Manhattan just a few blocks from where we stayed when we went to NY for master classes two years ago. Maybe if my back is better, I can put in some serious time there.
Ethan's visit to MD Anderson revealed that they think that Texas Children's is doing a great job, and they recommend the trial program there. They will only do the trial on him for a year, and then he has to leave the program. Not a good prognosis, but at least it could buy him some time. Elizabeth doesn't want to hand over her son to be a "lab rate" as she says. We talked about maybe it was time that his quality of life be the focal point instead of a cure. All I know is that the next year is going to be the REAL trial for that little family. I just hope and pray I can help her when my phone rings and I hear tears on the other end. I am praying that I will have the strength to help her through this experience. She so wants to do this with dignity. Just how do you prepare someone to lose their precious baby? I have to blink back the tears just thinking about it. She wants me to run interference for her at church to answer some of the questions. She just can't repeat things over and over.....I just can't believe this!
My staff at the church library is growing....they called three more librarians. Two men and a lady. Now I just have to train everyone again. I'll have to fit it in around trips to Austin, Denver, New York, and Nashville. These dance trips are getting expensive.
We are going to Denver to Spring Break. Dad will drive us up there, and then he goes on to San Diego on business. Then he will return to Denver, do some business, and drive us home. We thought it was a great alternative to staying here in Houston while Dad went. The little girls are SO EXCITED to go see Grandma and Grandpa, and Gary and Jean, and Grandpa Flanagan. They want to go back to that museum place with Grandpa Flanagan and see all those things made out of farm tools. I must admit, that was fun. I am looking forward to just leaving the dance studio behind for a couple of weeks.
We have Star Systems competition again this weekend.....must get those costumes packed up again. Between the girls, we have 15 costumes, with all the accessories and jewelry and shoes! It takes a full day to get everything ready to go. Dad is building the new garment rack, so hopefully, it won't break this time. We finally have a great system of keeping things organized, but it doesn't help when one of the parts breaks!
My sewing machine runs great again!!! Guess they filled up the oil reservoir. I told the man they need to put a little gauge on the thing so I know when it needs a refill before the thing freezes up! He just tells me it's not like a car. Well, I see no reason why it couldn't have an oil gauge like a car.....surely there is some scientist somewhere who could figure out how to do it. Since it uses the oil up, there would be no need to drain it like a car, so really you just need a little tube to fill up the spots that need the oil. See, even my simple mind can think this up, so a scientist should think it was a piece of cake! Just think of all the sewing that could be done if it could just be refilled at home and not have to spend a week in the sewing machine hospital. My goodness, my mending might actually get done! I might even be able to make something for myself....or fix Shyla's temple jacket sleeves, or make Britni her skirts. And there's always those pesky pillow cases that my extremely spoiled family love so much. Another idea would be to just figure out how to have the entire bottle of oil just built into the machine so that the refill tube just refilled the bottle, and somehow it spread out to all the parts that think they need a drink. Maybe the solution is to just feed the machine some alcoholic drinks, and then it would be drunk and would realize that it needs the oil.
Well, before this gets any crazier, I think the muscle relaxer is finally kicking in so I am going to try to get some sleep. I think I will just go on the couch because I can hear Dad in the bedroom....someday they will think up a cure for LOUD snoring. Then we can check Dad and Caleb in for it and be done with it. Russell may need to go too, I'll have to ask Shyla.
Well, remember to talk to your Heavenly Father....He is waiting to hear from you.
Love,
Mom
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Cancer's Back!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
I spent the morning today just puttering around the house and getting some stuff cleaned up that has gotten left while my back has been hurting....what a pain! Don't know what's worse, the mess on the counter, or the pain in my back!
This afternoon, Cooper and I went over to Elizabeth's house and had an ice cream picnic on the floor with her boys. Ethan's cancer is back, and it's in his lymph nodes close to his spine so the whole situation has Elizabeth in tears. She just wanted to laugh today, so I took dinner, the ice cream picnic, Cooper and her jokes, and a Horton Hears A Who game I bought.
I have decided that I am not sure that I can sit with her and watch her little one die. The doctors don't know what to do, as they have done the chemo that he can have for his lifetime, surgery isn't a good option, neither is radiation. So, we are waiting to see what they come up with. A VERY DEPRESSING situation. I had to tell her today, that the Savior may need Ethan in heaven more than we need him here on earth.....that just breaks my heart after the year I've spent helping her through the cancer treatment. They thought they had won, and now this. I am the friend she calls to cry with....I am glad to be her friend, but this is SO HARD!
As I was ready to leave, she just clung to me and with tears in her eyes and mine, I told her I would trade with her if I could. She has been through so much, it would be nice if someone else could just carry her burden for a little while.
When I called the RS Pres. today to update her on the situation, we had a good cry together. I told her that I needed some help in getting Elizabeth to laugh....she is coming up with something.
Well, I must get something to eat....and then rest my back.
I love you all.....
Mom
I spent the morning today just puttering around the house and getting some stuff cleaned up that has gotten left while my back has been hurting....what a pain! Don't know what's worse, the mess on the counter, or the pain in my back!
This afternoon, Cooper and I went over to Elizabeth's house and had an ice cream picnic on the floor with her boys. Ethan's cancer is back, and it's in his lymph nodes close to his spine so the whole situation has Elizabeth in tears. She just wanted to laugh today, so I took dinner, the ice cream picnic, Cooper and her jokes, and a Horton Hears A Who game I bought.
I have decided that I am not sure that I can sit with her and watch her little one die. The doctors don't know what to do, as they have done the chemo that he can have for his lifetime, surgery isn't a good option, neither is radiation. So, we are waiting to see what they come up with. A VERY DEPRESSING situation. I had to tell her today, that the Savior may need Ethan in heaven more than we need him here on earth.....that just breaks my heart after the year I've spent helping her through the cancer treatment. They thought they had won, and now this. I am the friend she calls to cry with....I am glad to be her friend, but this is SO HARD!
As I was ready to leave, she just clung to me and with tears in her eyes and mine, I told her I would trade with her if I could. She has been through so much, it would be nice if someone else could just carry her burden for a little while.
When I called the RS Pres. today to update her on the situation, we had a good cry together. I told her that I needed some help in getting Elizabeth to laugh....she is coming up with something.
Well, I must get something to eat....and then rest my back.
I love you all.....
Mom
Thursday, February 7, 2008
I Was Tagged!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
I was tagged a while ago, but have just found the time to answer these questions. And no, I won't tag anyone else since everyone already has been tagged.
10 years ago: I was living in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. I was working with a preschool doing the book orders, and running the lunch room at the elementary school.
5 things on my to-do list:
Clean out my closet
Organize all the photo albums
Spend some time with Guy (always my favorite thing to do, and no, he can't bring his laptop!)
Catch up my ironing
Help my friend through her daughter's cancer diagnosis (I just finished this mess with one friend, and it looks like it is starting with another one. At least I know where the hospital is this time.)
5 snacks I enjoy:
cheesecake
warm chocolate chip cookies
warm brownies with ice cream and chocolate syrup on top
Snickers bar
Heath Bar
If I were suddenly a billionaire:
I would see that our children had the money they needed to totally finish their educations, pay my tithing, pay off any bills we still had, buy a new van with rear air conditioning, and go on some vacation with just Dad. The rest of the money we could give some to Grandma and Grandpa for medical issues, and maybe for the first time in our lives just waste some!
3 bad habits:
I'm a perfectionist - which leads to problems in some situations.
I demand to much of myself most of the time.
I hate to do the ironing and clean the bathroom - that's why I let Dad do the bathroom every Saturday. He loves me enough to pretend he doesn't mind doing it.
5 places I have lived:
Salt Lake City, Utah
Greeley, Colorado
San Francisco, California
Cobham, Surrey, England
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
5 Jobs I've Had:
Financial secretary for Finance America
Kelley girls- executive secretary
Model garment seamstress for Cloth World
Medical Coder
Dance Studio Office Manager
5 Things People Don't Know About Me:
I play the accordian, organ, and piano
I tried out to be a majorette for my junior high drill team - thankfully, I didn't make it!
I would like to open my own business
I love making chili, having a fire, and reading a good book under a snuggly cover when it's snowing outside. I know, fat chance in Houston!
I received a scholarship to go the the LDS Business college.
Must get back to the sewing machine.....have a good day.
Mom
I was tagged a while ago, but have just found the time to answer these questions. And no, I won't tag anyone else since everyone already has been tagged.
10 years ago: I was living in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. I was working with a preschool doing the book orders, and running the lunch room at the elementary school.
5 things on my to-do list:
Clean out my closet
Organize all the photo albums
Spend some time with Guy (always my favorite thing to do, and no, he can't bring his laptop!)
Catch up my ironing
Help my friend through her daughter's cancer diagnosis (I just finished this mess with one friend, and it looks like it is starting with another one. At least I know where the hospital is this time.)
5 snacks I enjoy:
cheesecake
warm chocolate chip cookies
warm brownies with ice cream and chocolate syrup on top
Snickers bar
Heath Bar
If I were suddenly a billionaire:
I would see that our children had the money they needed to totally finish their educations, pay my tithing, pay off any bills we still had, buy a new van with rear air conditioning, and go on some vacation with just Dad. The rest of the money we could give some to Grandma and Grandpa for medical issues, and maybe for the first time in our lives just waste some!
3 bad habits:
I'm a perfectionist - which leads to problems in some situations.
I demand to much of myself most of the time.
I hate to do the ironing and clean the bathroom - that's why I let Dad do the bathroom every Saturday. He loves me enough to pretend he doesn't mind doing it.
5 places I have lived:
Salt Lake City, Utah
Greeley, Colorado
San Francisco, California
Cobham, Surrey, England
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
5 Jobs I've Had:
Financial secretary for Finance America
Kelley girls- executive secretary
Model garment seamstress for Cloth World
Medical Coder
Dance Studio Office Manager
5 Things People Don't Know About Me:
I play the accordian, organ, and piano
I tried out to be a majorette for my junior high drill team - thankfully, I didn't make it!
I would like to open my own business
I love making chili, having a fire, and reading a good book under a snuggly cover when it's snowing outside. I know, fat chance in Houston!
I received a scholarship to go the the LDS Business college.
Must get back to the sewing machine.....have a good day.
Mom
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